Historical
Within the biblical canon there is a pervasive acceptance of the events recorded in Scripture as historical, beginning with the foundational accounts of the Creation, the Fall, and the Flood. References to the account of Creation in Genesis 1 and 2 as historical fact abound throughout Scripture. God is identified as having made heaven and earth (e.g., 2 Kings 19:15; Neh. 9:6; Isa. 37:16; Acts 4:24). Numerous psalms affirm that the sun, moon, and stars as well as all life on earth is the handiwork of God (e.g., Ps. 19:1-4; 24:1, 2; 33:6-9; 90:2; 95:3-6; 102:25; 104; 136:5-9; 146:6; 148), and that human beings in a special sense are His creation (e.g., Ps. 8:3-6; 100:3; 139:13-16). This conviction underlies all of biblical ethics, from fair treatment of the poor (Prov. 14:31; 17:5) and of hired workers (Prov. 26:10) to relations between nations and peoples (Acts 17:26) as well as within the church (1 Cor. 11:7-12; Gal. 3:28) and the home (Eph. 5:22-33). The two institutions based on Creation, the Sabbath and marriage (Gen. 2:1-3, 24), are reinforced in the teachings of Jesus (Mark 2:27; Matt. 19:4-6) and throughout the New Testament.GOP 106.2
The Bible writers likewise refer to the fall of Adam as the historical reality necessitating redemption by the second “Adam” (Rom. 5:12-19), which assures final restoration of believers into God’s image and their reception of immortality (Rom. 5:20, 21; 1 Cor. 15:45-54). The global destruction at the time of the Flood and the covenant that God made with all living things on the earth immediately afterward (Gen. 7:17-23; 9:8-17) are referred to as the basis of hope on the one hand (Isa. 54:7-10; Heb. 11:7) and of final judgment of the world by fire on the other (Matt. 24:37-39; 2 Peter 2:5; 3:6, 7).GOP 106.3
Almost as dominant a theme in the Old Testament is Israel’s exodus from Egypt, which marks their deliverance from bondage and birth as a nation. Already the retelling of the Exodus is enshrined within the Passover ritual (Ex. 12:25-27) and in the prologue of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:2; Deut. 5:6). The many historical summaries found throughout Scripture (e.g., Deut. 29:19; Josh. 24:1-15; Neh. 9; Ps. 78; 105; 106; 136; Acts 7; 1 Cor. 10:1-10) include frequent references to Creation and the Exodus, underscoring both the Bible writers trust in the historical veracity of the events recorded and the continuing relevance and important role of remembrance of that history for the people of God (Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:11).GOP 107.1
The genealogies likewise underscore that God’s plan for His people is worked out in history. The protoevangelium of Genesis 3:15 announces that God’s promise is to be fulfilled through the seed of the woman and finds expression through the chronogenealogies of Genesis 5 and 11 (cf. Gen. 10:1-32), the patriarchs’ posterity (Gen. 25; 36; 46; Num. 26), the genealogies of Moses and Aaron (Ex. 6:14-25), David (Ruth 4:18-22), and the extensive genealogies of 1 Chronicles 1-9. The New Testament begins with a genealogy of Jesus (Matt. 1:1-16), including a variant version given in Luke 3:23-38, while Paul relates his Jewish ancestry from Benjamin (Phil. 3:5).GOP 107.2